The present application relates to a re-railer apparatus for placing de-railed railroad cars back onto a track.
The accidental de-railing of railroad cars during normal movement of the cars at a railroad yard and the like is not uncommon. When this occurs, it has been heretofore necessary to dispatch to the derailing site a track-mounted crane car which is able to re-rail the car by picking-up the de-railed end(s) of the car and returning it to the track. Such crane cars are quite costly, as a result of which there are only a limited number of such crane cars available. Hence, the crane car may not be located near the de-railing site, so a considerable delay could occur before the crane car arrives. Also, the cost of the services of such a crane car is normally quite high.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,264 there is disclosed a re-railing unit for re-railing a de-railed car. The disclosure of that patent is incorporated by reference herein. The re-railing unit disclosed in that patent is depicted in accompanying FIGS. 13 and 14. The unit 8 is adapted to be attached to a mobile vehicle, such as a conventional front end loader (not shown) which transports the unit to and from a de-railing site. The unit comprises a base 10 having longitudinally spaced ends that carry respective ground supports 12. A support plate 14 is mounted on the base for longitudinal sliding movement relative thereto (to the right and left in FIG. 13). A lifting arm 16 is mounted on the support plate and includes a contacting structure in the form of a pair of hook-shaped lugs 1820 configured to grip the underside of certain types of drawhead 19 projecting from the end of a conventional railroad car. A pair of hydraulic rams 22 are mounted on the support plate and are operably connected to the lifting arm for raising the lifting arm and an end of the rail car. Another hydraulic ram (not shown) is provided for sliding the support plate 14 generally horizontally relative to the base for repositioning the wheels of the raised rail car over the rails of a track, whereupon the rams 22 are retracted to lower the wheels onto the track rails.
While functioning successfully to re-rail railroad cars, room for improvement remains, because certain types of rail car drawbars are not susceptible of being reliably raised by the hook-shaped lugs 78, 80.
Therefore, it would be desirable to enable the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,264 to reliably lift a greater number of drawbar types.
The present invention relates to a method of re-railing a de-railed railroad car. The method includes the steps of:
A) positioning in front of the de-railed railroad car a re-railing unit comprising:
(i) a base having longitudinally spaced ends,
(ii) a support plate mounted on the base for longitudinal sliding movement thereon,
(iii) a lifting mechanism mounted on the support plate,
(iv) a lifting arm suspended at its upper end from the lifting mechanism and being raisable by the lifting mechanism, the lifting arm having a first engagement structure, and
(v) a sliding mechanism for sliding the support plate longitudinally across said base;
B) removing a knuckle from a body of a coupler of the de-railed rail car by removing a pivot pin which pivotably connects the knuckle to the body;
C) inserting into the body an adapter member and connecting the adapter member to the body by inserting a pivot pin through the body and the adapter member, the adapter member having a second engagement structure engageable by the first engagement structure;
D) actuating the sliding mechanism to position the lifting arm beneath the adapter member;
E) actuating the lifting mechanism to raise the lifting arm such that the first engagement structure engages the second engagement structure and the rail car;
F) actuating the sliding mechanism to position de-railed wheels of the rail car over the rails from which they are de-railed; and
G) actuating the lifting mechanism to lower the wheels onto the rails.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to an apparatus for re-railing a de-railed railroad car. The apparatus includes an adapter member adapted to be mounted to a railroad car coupler. The adapter member comprises an ear adapted to be inserted between upper and lower flanges of the coupler. The ear including a vertical hole at one end thereof. The hole is adapted to receive a pivot pin for connecting the ear to the upper and lower flanges. The adapter also includes a leg disposed at an end of the adapter opposite the ear for engaging an underside of the coupler. The apparatus also includes a re-railer unit which comprises a base having longitudinally spaced ends and connecting arms releasably connectable to a vehicle. Hydraulic ground support members are carried adjacent respective ends of the base and include vertically adjustable elements. A support plate is mounted on the base for longitudinal sliding movement thereon. A pair of upright hydraulic lifting rams extend upwardly from the support plate. A lifting arm is suspended at its upper end from the lifting rams and is disposed between the lifting rams. A lower end of the lifting arm carries an engagement structure adapted to engage the adapter member. The lifting arm and the drawhead are raisable in response to extension of the lifting rams. A power actuator is connected between the base and the support plate for sliding the support plate longitudinally across the base to reposition wheels of the raised railroad car over the track from which it has become de-railed so that the wheels can be lowered onto the track by the lifting rams.